This invention relates to an improved animal litter and a method for reducing the ammonia odor in animal litter.
The housing of small animals presents many well known difficulties concerning the disposal of their wastes. Generally, such disposal is accomplished by the use of animal litter capable of sorbing the liquid wastes to a sufficient degree such that the litter is useful for at least several days before noxious odors emanating from the litter necessitate its removal.
Various substances are commonly utilized as litter materials for animals. Such substances include clays, for example, bentonites and fuller's earth (attapulgite); diatomaceous earth (kieselguhr); vermiculite; parts of plants, for example, straw, sorghum, corn cob, sugar cane stalks, peanut hulls and cotton seed hulls; wood chips; paper and sawdust. All of these materials are generally characterized by a relatively high surface area and high moisture absorbency.
A desirable litter is one that not only possesses high water sorptivity, but also has the following attributes:
(1) high sorptivity for odors, particularly ammoniacal odors,
(2) a low degree of dusting,
(3) adequate crush strength,
(4) self-sanitizing, and
(5) non-toxic.
Conventional litter materials are somewhat objectionable in that they fail to adequately suppress odors. These odors are generated as the liquids absorbed by the litter material turn from acidic to basic giving off odoriferous substances, particularly ammonia.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,776,118 and 3,898,324 concerning inhibiting the formation of odors from poultry farms. These patents disclose the use of a dried fine powder of zeolite mixed with a course powder of crystalline ferrous sulfate hepta-hydrate. The use of zeolites in these patents is to impart stability with the deodorizing accomplished by the sulfate hepta-hydrate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,704, a zeolite serves as a vehicle for an odor control agent, such as a perfume, flavoring, fragrance or essence oil.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,728, zeolites are described for use in a deodorization method. In this patent, however, the zeolite acts as a support for an acid, such acid serving as the deodorization agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,545 discloses the use of clinoptilolite in the ammonia exchanged form and treated with a dilute solution of a strong acid to act as an absorbent for acid gases.
The use of zeolites by themselves as litter materials has generally been unsuccessful due to their poor water sorption properties as compared to clays. It was heretofore believed that for zeolites to be effective as an odor controlling agent in animal litter, 100 percent zeolite had to be used to ensure that all the animal urine dropped directly on the zeolite to effect ion exchange of the ammonia contained therein.